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Glow-worm P.1
| previous = PRT: Department Sixty-Four | next = Glow-worm P.2 }}Part 1 is the first chapter of Glow-worm. Two years after Gold Morning PHO is back. Point_Me_@_The_Sky participates in online discussion, update on Earth Bet and the world. Plot Point_Me@_The_Sky browes the restored internet. Point_Me@_The_Sky will be referred to as PM@TS from here on out. PM@TS logs into Parahumans online (abbreviated to PHO from here on out). Their login process notes that her account is a 'cape in civilian clothes' account; they're a cape but has two accounts, and this is the one they switch to when they don't want to broadcast that they're a cape. A kind of legitimate 'sockpuppet' account. Topic: We’re Back Online TLDR: Internet is back up. People (PM@TS included) are trying to gather or salvage info, old websites & other materials. PM@TS browses a thread started by Hope_in_Pithos, an administrator; the internet is back up after the end of the world. It was a pretty intensive process involving 'seventy eight PHO staff members, employees of Stateside Online, former officials of the US government, former members of the United States space program, members of international space programs, the Guild (Masamune in particular), and numerous independent experts and volunteers.' The internet is still not working at 100% and Hope_in_Pithos suggests that patience, helpfulness and contributions will be important in the future - not just when it comes to the newly restarted internet. I♥Lethe comments in response to someone on a prior page, stressing that tech support doesn't necessarily exist anymore - it'll be easier for people to come up with new avenues of attack than it will be for anyone to roll out a patch or otherwise handle the virus. KillDestroyKiss is a librarian, and talks about how they're getting laptops from refugees from Earth Bet, using info from the caches of laptops and other computers to rebuild something piecemeal. PM@TS replies, volunteering to try to scavenge for anything that the librarian needs for filling gaps in knowledge. They remark that if there's no need, they'll try to round out their collection. When asked, clarifies that the collection is a series of titles (it's not clear what these are): Masque, Costumes Under Clothes, Heroine & Shine On. The person who asked (Boaty5) disparages these titles and it's implied there's a bit of snippiness, with PM@TS deleting one post. The Librarian asks for the opportunity to scan PM@TS collection (Masque, etc) for the archives and they make plans to meet. Topic: Headline Refugees Barred Access TLDR: Refugees have a long & dangerous road across Bet, which is in bad shape. Access was canceled and then restored without answers given. Thinkers are now overseeing checkpoints. People are frustrated at the lack of communication on this & other fronts. The world ended and nobody has explained why, though the how is known. 'Boo-chan' posts a transcript of an article. The article uses 'Conrad James Freed' and his family's story as one example of refugees from the destroyed Earth Bet who've had hard journeys and now remain on Earth Bet, just outside the Bet-to-Gimel portal, being told they aren't being allowed inside. Conrad's story highlights how bad things are on Bet. He was trying to get by and subsist by farming, it snowed in June, authorities knocked on his door, and they said that the groundwater and snowfall were contaminated and he had to evacuate. They weren't allowed to pack, his daughter was manhandled, and the bad treatment led to them trying to make their way to the portal themselves, instead of getting a flight or ride. It took him some time, and it wasn't pleasant. Conrad is quoted, saying he knows there's space on the other side, he has much-needed skills with agriculture, and they're getting only silence and they're one family among many who are being refused permission to pass. The thread is 20 pages long - we see comments on page 19. K.G. Gray remarks that they're letting people through again now. The article might have been written to pressure authorities. Geronimo reports the official word: they wanted to pause and get organized so they could process people at twice the rate... he remarks that this doesn't explain the silence. Nakyak is a cape geek who notes that the authorities have known thinkers Squint & Danger Zone on duty and they've got one thinker on duty at all times. PM@TS adds her own knowledge about how the two thinkers operate. Squint can see contraband & other hazards, Danger Zone sees likelihood that a given person will commit violence to a given person near them, as well as the flavor & 'recency' of that violence. Boosher asks a question about terminology refugees are using about being between a rock and a hard place, which Nutty answers - 'Word on the capevine is that with everyone having pulled out, all former quarantine zones are breached. In the US and elsewhere. Nilbog is the one everyone knows about. He’s in custody, his children aren’t. If you’re paying attention to hero groups and their movements, they’re making lots of trips out. ' - Nutty notes that the capes are flying out, they're tired and not communicating - he speculates that things are bad and they don't want people to know. Boaty5 from the 'back online' thread above returns to comment angrily about the silence and lack of explanations - the world ended and nobody's explaining the particulars. PM@TS comments again, building on the earlier answer about just how bad it's been in Bet: 'a big part of what was being talked about in other similar articles was the threat of bandits, bad weather, the wasteland and chasms, unstoppable robot armies, the food shortages.' - PM@TS makes a reference to Boaty5 and how his attitude might be part of why heroes aren't communicating. People are angry. PM@TS feels its a misplaced anger: 'Assign the blame to the man who did this. In times of crisis, look to the people who are helping. Support them or try to be one of them.' Deepwell5 posts a counter-reply to PM@TS, echoing Boaty's angry sentiment, but wording it more politely. They saw the cape-noncape dynamic as being a contract, we tolerate you capes so long as you protect us. You didn't protect us, so some intolerance is to be expected (to paraphrase). Deepwell is a bit scared because the old PRT is gone, there's something like the PRT but without the oversight or communication now starting up. a final commenter in the thread agrees with Deepwell. Private Message Conversation: PM@TS and Glitzglam PM@TS has a conversation with GlitzGlam, with Glitz opening, urging PM@TS not to engage with the angry people. PM@TS is worried about what happens if the wrong ideas, while Glitz is worried about that but also worried about PM@TS. Glitz references an email, to which PM@TS is pretty negative about, suggesting the email hasn't been received yet. They agree to meet in person, getting ice cream, and talk about the 'gang' getting back together again. Chapter closes with PM@TS getting a notification about several unread private messages. Characters *Point_Me_@_The_Sky *Glitzglam *Hope_In_Pithos Mention *The Guild **Masamune *Squint *Machine Army (indirectly) Major Events *Internet is back in-force, everything is going to be okay now. Trivia *Wildbow has written an extended chapter-by-chapter synopsis of Glow-worm on Reddit. Site Navigation